What if you didn't use the coatrack at all, but made this wall your family photo/art gallery? You could hang your pictures even in the angled part. Just a thought. I love your bench, by the way!

Lovely hall, lovely bench.

I may be in the minority, but I'm going to vote for hanging pictures, not a coat rack.

That's a beautiful photo, but I'm not a big fan of coat racks in traffic areas or highly visible areas like entryways. It looks like one thing when Country Living does it and a designer decides what coats to hang and hangs them just so, and it looks another way in real life with the jumble of coats and bags that are in actual use. Or so I see in my friends' homes.

Likewise that the coats and things might hang down over the back of the bench. Too much of that and it obscures the beauty of the bench and the elegant simple lines of the space.

But my opinion is that of a woman with a lot of children who would be hanging random brightly colored, puffy down coats and dog leashes on the rack if I had it--it's hard for me to picture successfully controlling what gets "displayed". Your situation may be one where you can more easily maintain the designer coat rack look!

i think a coat rack over the bench(and pics/mirrors above) would look really nice and mask the end of stair trim(i have a similar situation, only high on the wall which really bothers me!!!)
i would, however, control the amount that gets hung on the rack and build a rack that extends the length of the bench...i don't think i would like it ending 1/2 way over the bench.

If you plan to use your coat rack, in real life our coats get wet and need to hang dry. Having that beautiful bench under them wouldn't help.

BUT..if you plan to have it for a decorative item, then by all means do it. It would look really nice. And you can hang what you want on the rack! Many people use coat racks for things other than coats.

Do you need a place to hang coats? I know from experience that old houses are sadly lacking in closets! If you do, then I say this is a great opportunity to get some coat space as well as decorate!

Love the look in the pictures. I think I would hang it a little higher as suggested above. Meet the square end of the stair. That would also give you a little more hanging length.

The bench is too long for that area. It already covers part of the spindles and stairs. I guess that there is no way to shovel it down or it would have already been done.

Hanging hooks over the bench like in the inspiration photo does not seem functional. How would children or shorter people get to the hooks trying to lean forward? If the hooks are used, the items hanging from them would cover the bench making the bench rather useless for sitting. Plus it would look odd with coats and purses covering the back of the bench and what about long coats rumpled on the seat?

Go with your idea of just displaying photos or paintings.

Wow, lots of different thoughts and suggestions here, thank you everyone!

Okay .. as far as the coat hooks, they would be for guests mainly to use when they visit, a place to hang decorative items and provide a place to rest pictures above it. I thought about the idea of starting the shelf/rack, right at the end of the stairs moulding, just like Jan suggested, which would be an awesome way to continue the line .. but I didn't know if it would be too high.

Our kids come in the door, take their shoes off on the carpet and then take all their stuff right upstairs with them, including their shoes. They have their own coat rack, section for their shoes to be stored in and a place to put their bookbags in their room at the top of the stairs. I've found this works best to keep things from getting too cluttered, we already tried it the other way.

Dilly .. the bench is 14' long and I bought it because I like how it fills up our very long hall, it's warmed up the hall tremendously .. the over lap on the stairs doesn't bother me.

It doesn't really bother me all that much, but what if you installed board like you have on the ceiling vertically down to fill in that triangle formed by the steps? That may alleviate some of what you don't like.

I guess the best way to "test" the possible height for the coatrack is to literally measure a long adult-size coat as it "hangs"!

As illustrated in the inspiration photo -- even hanging jackets could interfere with folks (espeically adult ones) trying to sit on the bench to put on boots or shoes. And if you add a cushion (at some time) to the bench -- then that would raise the "height" of the sitters.

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

I love that bench, and I'd cover the wall with photos and art that all work together, framed uniformly. Can you add a piece of trim to connect the crown molding with that of the stair trim?

You can also put baskets on and under the bench for storage and if you really want to splash out,you could make a seat cushion (or two, as one looooong one might be impractical) for extra color/pattern.

I think the hooks aren't really that useful.

I love that bench too, but think it is the offender in the space. It is way too long. I agree with dilly dally in that I would just displaying photos or paintings.

I like the bench too, but tend to agree that it's too long for that spot. What does the other side of the hall look like? Could you put it there instead?

I'd do it, being sure to match the width of horizontal wood to height of vertical piece of stair (where your arrow is). Since bench is so long, even if guests' coats hang onto seat, there's still room to sit. For day to day, I'd hang decorative stuff. It's true that the artwork will be high, so choose art that does not need to be closely viewed at eye level. Sure, bench proportions aren't ideal for that hall, but sometimes a little lack of perfection adds charm.

Thanks again for everyone that has added their thoughts, help and opinions.

Natal .. There is not room on the other side of the hall for the bench.

Just curious .. where do you guys think the bench should stop?

Looking the other way :

{{!gwi}}

Where the bench ends .. it actually over laps very little of the stairs. If it stopped back by where I put the arrow, it would quite far back from the front door.

{{!gwi}}

Best picture I have before the bench .. it was very bowling alley like :

Zip, the bench is beautiful as is the rest of your house.

I agree with the others regarding the length so much. I think the bench is why the staircase is bothering you, actually, because it's pushing farther than it should. I think it should stop before the stairs. Is there anyway to cut it down?

I hate even saying this because if you're anything like me, once something gets pointed out to me it aggravates the living daylights out of me until it's resolved.

where do you guys think the bench should stop?

Can't tell for sure from the pics, but I'd say the 5th or 6th tread (step). Could you use the bench anywhere else in the house and find a smaller one for the hall?

Zipdee - I like your idea with the coat rack & the photo display above it for that area above your lovely bench. I think it would be functional as well as beautiful. Love your inspiration picture & I think your area will look very similar. Your bench may be just a tad long, but agree with gwrb54 that it's so charming - it just doesn't matter. I say go for it & show us what it looks like when you're done.

Here's a picture, Natal are you saying about arrow #2 it should stop, before reaching the white trim board under the stairs? Nope .. There is not another place for a 14' bench in our house.

Megsy, honestly the bench doesn't bother me overlapping the stairs. :)My very old house and decorating because of it is all less than perfect, to a certain extent I've learned to live around it, other wise I don't think I'd like the house very much. The way the stairs have to dead end is what bothers me pretty much. I honestly think it would bother me less if there was wainscoting here, effectively blending that white trim, with the white wall, but in another way it's not a good place to add more wainscoting to the house.

The bench is what it is and people who live in old houses and buy quirky benches shouldn't get wrapped around the axle over the bench being a bit too long.

Nix the idea of the hooks - everyone is just going to throw their stuff on the bench anyhow. The leaning photos above the bench would worry me, what if one of them slipped off and fell on someone's head?

As for your not liking how the stair ends, you could make the entire side piece go away by painting it the wall color.

I like the idea of a photo array on the wall above the bench as wodka and others suggested.

The offending area does not bother me. The overlapping bench does. I think a coat rack would look messy, and I also think, even if you used it only for guests, then it would look esp. messy when you have guests . . .which is probably the last time you would want that.

I think you should keep it simple. A pretty, framed mirror would be lovely and practical in that spot.

Natal are you saying about arrow #2 it should stop, before reaching the white trim board under the stairs?

Yes, so it doesn't sit in front of the stair risers. But if it really doesn't bother you, then it's a non-issue. ;)

I'm just wondering when you have guests now, don't they throw their coats, purses, etc on your beautiful bench? If you had the coat rack, I think it would help keep your beautiful bench clear. And why would the photo's fall off on people's head, unless someone was jumping up from the bench & if they were going to do that, they will also know knock down photos hung on the wall. Just my opinion.

I think visual lines and weight are really coming into play in this space. I agree with the others that say the bench is too long for two reasons.

1. The visual line weight of the stairs is better balanced when the bench comes underneath of it to hold it up instead of the bench being over top of it offering no visual support to the stair line. This may be why the stair line bothers you visually stopping half way up the wall. I know that may sound weird, but everything in a room effects everything else in the room visually.

2. The bench being so long to me, just seems to extend and emphasize the visual long lines of the hallway only adding to the bowling ball effect.

I think a shorter, smaller bench would visually balance the weight underneath the line of the stairs and give your eye a resting point instead of following the long lines all the way down the hall.

I also thought you had the space to possibly do a small table or coat rack in a couple different spots on the other wall if you wanted instead to better balance the weight the wall with the stairs has. I think it would be really neat to do built in storage underneath the stairs but I know that's expensive and over the top to throw out as a suggestion.

I know, I'm probably not helping.

>>>

I need to figure out how to properly quote. :)

I think I'm just going to agree with you on this and move on. Maybe it's because I've lived in an old house for so long, everything and I mean everything in this house has a trade off. On the scale of some of the weirdness, crookedness, quirkiness and just plain mind boggling I've had to work my way around, a 1 1/2 foot overlap of the bench on the stair trim is really minor in my book. :D *LOL*

Roobear .. you're not making things harder and I appreciate you writing out your explanation. That part of the stairwell bothered me long before the bench come a long though. As far as it contributing to the bowling alley look, I think that's a matter of opinion. I think it has filled up the hall nicely, provided a neat, interesting piece to look at and nice seating.

Graywings .. my axle is back on track :)

Everyone that has contributed so far to this post thank you! I've read each and every post and you've all brought a lot to the table and given me some things to think about and ponder over. :)

Now that you've posted some more photos, I could see some soft goods in that area. Maybe a throw pillow, seat cushions, or a runner for the floor. Possibly even a diagonal grid painted on floor (but only if floors are bad, and they don't look bad). Love your light fixtures, and it's interesting to see that the one at front door grew a stem - looks much nicer.

Can you move the bench down toward the door just a little? So the end of the bench ends at the return of the tread that's at the same height as the back?

I don't know what to do about the problem area, a long (going right to the door trim) board butting into the very end of the stair trim might just make it look longer. You choice to make it with hooks or jut a ledge for pictures. But I still think that it needs vertical lines - if you could do what Pal suggested w/o putting beadboard up on all the walls fine. How about starting by just painting the area under the board/coat rail/ledge white to match the trm, then see if you need to make it a true wainscoting look?

I used to rent a gorgeous old house. Know what you mean about trade offs. LOVE your bench "and" where you placed it. I've done the hooks above a bench before, guests didn't use it. That's helpful to know since you can hang whatever "you" want from the hooks and no one else will bother your display. :0) I'm FOR the hooks & shelf, it's a timeless look.

I found this picture of an entry bench in front of a staircase on the Always Nesting decorating blog. Yours, BTW, looks just fine where it is, especially because it has a solid back.

Here is a link that might be useful: bench in front of stairs

I think the hook and shelves could look cool there. Maybe get some painters tape out and do some mock ups. Hold a coat up and see how it would really look.

I also like the bench and where it's at.

Bac, thanks for the picture! I did a search last night and found a lot of pictures of stuff placed in front of stair trim, treads and spindles. Some by home owners, some by interior decorators. So I just figured it either something people have a tolerance for or not.

Gwbr .. I am on the look out for a runner for the hall. I'm not sure if I want cushions or not on the bench, I think it looks great in the picture above, which is a very monochromatic look. Here I have a lot of colors and patterns in rooms that you can see standing in the hall.

Ajsmama .. the bench is pushed down absolutely as far as it can go.

Shee, Nicole and Ruthy .. thanks! I think a mock up would be a great idea, I'll let you all know what I come up with.